116 THE GREEN RISING 



mingled with the genuine fear of the growth of the 

 western States. . . . 



"The generation that established itself between 

 1800 and 1820 was grounded in the belief that a 

 government price for land was one of the numerous 

 financial extortions from which it had to suffer. It 

 was generally convinced that the newer portions of 

 the country were subject to financial exploitations by 

 the older, and was more bitterly distressed by the 

 financial bonds that bound it to fellow citizens than 

 by those that were held by the lighter hand of 

 government." 2 



It was inevitable that a change in conditions 

 should be brought about as the political influence of 

 the West increased. The effect of the new system 

 as modified from time to time by experience has been 

 one of the most momentous in the annals of Ameri- 

 can history. The full effects of the later policy of 

 land settlement have not yet been realized fully. 

 But each succeeding year of our history gives new 

 significance to the progressive land policies of our 

 government. 



The early land policies of the government grad- 

 ually gave way to what has proved to be a permanent 

 plan of disposing of public lands. The system of 

 land grants in small tracts for actual settlement and 

 cultivation has had much to commend it. The de- 

 tails of this method have been modified from time to 



1 History of the American Frontier (1924), Chap. XXV, pp. 224 

 and 225. 



